Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro has the character Kathy, who is defined as kind, a donor, and someone who provides life. The book begins by introducing the narrator, Kathy, a caregiver who spends her days traveling from one recovery clinic to the next to assist donors in their recovery after making a donation. Despite the opportunity to reunite with Tommy and Ruth, her Hailsham friends, the donations do not appear to be enjoyable. Kathy appears to get along well with Tommy, but they clash when it comes to Ruth (Ishiguro 34).
Kathy is fond of listening to her favorite song, “Never Let Me Go.” That has the same name as the novel. The book majors on what is to be a human. Ishiguro concentrates on the individual's traumatic experiences and how the public perceives such occurrences. The novel pays attention to human rights (issues) and the current conflict between personal development and the willingness to submit to the community's norms and values. The story can be considered as a human rights narrative that employ the power of storytelling devices to capture the human rights of the oppressed individuals. Ishiguro devices mechanisms of fighting the oppression and lack of freedom in the society (Ishiguro 56).
The understanding of the novel is critical in coming up with the solution concerning the rivalry between the individual and the community making the discussion useful and insightful. Kathy and her friends had never thought of escaping and that the clone rebellion never happened. Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth had to submit to their fate because the clones were passive characters. Clones cannot fight against any system that is not pleasing nor find any job, and they cannot donate vital organs. Although, the idea seems frustrating, Never Let Me Go novel connects the submission of human beings with fulfillment and happiness. Kathy and her friends find pleasure in donating organs because they know they are going to achieve one day (Ishiguro 78). The paper will use Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go to discuss Kathy's use of the passive style of writing and judge whether the novel promotes passivity.
Analysis
Duis, Sarah. "Institutionalized Oppression: Passivity and Post-Colonialism in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go." Indiana University South Bend Undergraduate Research 12.1 (2012): 20-22. .
Sarah Duis, a graduate researcher of Indiana University Sound Bend, discusses the theme of passivity. She analyzed the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro in line with Edward Said article of “Resistance, Opposition, and Representation.” The article is a representation of three themes that can be considered as the basis for cultural resistance amidst colonization (Duis 20). Said explains and does not appreciate the use of Ishiguro’s ideas. He argued that the story presents a challenge to the post-colonial evidence of rebellion and resistance. It highlights the human nature and ability to adhere to planned colonization. Said further stated that colonization denies a person the free will and freedom to exercise their rights making them passive members in the community. Moreover, Sarah Duis's article analyzes Ishiguro's novel in light of Edward Said's argument. Duis proves that the existence of passivity in the book is evidenced by the writing style he uses (Duis 21). For example, he systematically rejects resistance, opposition, and representation ideas that must be present for cultural rebellion. Duis work is different from all other articles that offer a more opinioned perspective. Therefore, Duis article is accurate but with a narrow outlook as compared to other literary works. The article is reliable, and thus the student researcher has produced a credible and precise work. For instance, Kathy gives an account of Tommy's trials that foreshadows Ishiguro's argument that people are immoral. Ishiguro portrays a society that someone will always take a stand for morality. Tommy's bullying can be compared to manslaughter to elaborate that Kathy forced organ donations had become so familiar and brought disturbance to the school yard (Duis 22). In my opinion, the fact that Kathy showed passive reactions to her daily life is evident that the society was no longer persistent nor aggressive to what they believed in. Kathy says, “I won’t be a carer anymore come the end of the year, and though I have got a lot out of it, I have to admit I will welcome the chance to rest-to stop and think and remember” (Ishiguro 1). This quote is clearly showing the passivity of Kathy in continuing with her work of organ donation. It shows she had given up in her activities probably because of the difficulties linked to the exercise.
Groes, Sebastian, Barry Lewis and Sean Matthews. Kazuo Ishiguro: New Critical Visions of the Novels. New York: Palgrave, 2011. .
Sebastian, Lewis, and Matthew's discuss themes prevalent in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel as passivity. The three authors are lecturers from the Roehampton University and thus can be considered as experienced writers of the colonial time. Groes Sebastian critically analyzes the lack of resistance in Ishiguro’s novel and states that the passive nature of Kathy is significant and a dominant theme in the story. He quotes “Hailsham is passive and non-rebellious.” Never Let Me Go novel elaborates the complacency nature of human beings to endure the hardships of life and choose to endure. According to the text, people have behaviors that seldom exceed the status quo to reason beyond their limits. It is evident that most people will continue to live and suffer per the society’s norm and values and do not factor the alternatives at their disposal without considering that they might have other ways. The article also embodies an interview done by Ishiguro to grow the subject. Furthermore, the authors use other examples from other literary works by Kazuo Ishiguro such as The Remains of the Day, When We Were Orphans, and an Artist of the Floating World to argue the recurrence of submission and complacency of human nature. Therefore it is evident that the article is distinct in its ideas that Ishiguro's novel mimics the actual life in which individuals choose to accept the rules and cultural values of the society without thinking of an alternative (Groes, Barry and Matthews 98). Moreover, the novel is distinctive as it does not only embody the Never Let Me Go article alone but integrates other stories written by the same author in which the concept of passivity is promoted. The four sources can be compared in that they uniquely discuss the nature of submission of human beings in the society even at the point of cultural oppression. Instead of people reacting and acting violently on abuse, they tend to remain calm and peaceful so as to maintain the values and norms of the society. Besides the article can be considered as a reliable source because it was written by a veteran researcher and academician who is regarded as a specialist in modern and contemporary fiction. The writers explain the memory of the 21st century that elaborates on the human beings remaining loyal to the community’s norms even at the point of oppression (Groes, Barry and Matthews 123). In view of the article, it is my thought that currently people are remaining passive and do not want to engage in rebellious acts that may compromise their societal expectations and norms.
